Derby County manager Paul Warne has admitted that results will need to improve if he is to keep his job at Pride Park.
The 51-year-old guided the Rams back to the Championship last season with a second-placed finish in League One. A decent start to life in the second tier showed promise, and there was a belief that a mid-table finish was more than achieveable.
However, a 1-0 defeat against Leeds United at the end of December has kicked off a dreadful run of form which has seen them lose six on the bounce. As such, they fell into the relegation zone for the first time this season after losing at Cardiff City last weekend.
Warne Remains Realistic
Derby welcome Sheffield United to the East Midlands tomorrow knowing that only a win will give them a chance of moving out of the bottom three. That seems a tall task against a team that are challenging for the Championship title, but Warne admits that he needs to start getting results. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, he said:
“I don’t need their reassurance, in the nicest possible sense, because I’m a big boy.
“I understand the position we are in and I understand the league form we are in – I understand everything.
“I don’t expect someone to say to me, ‘it doesn’t matter about results you will be here for the next two years’ because I’m well aware of how football is and my job is just to pick my staff up and to pick my team up and send them out willing for Saturday.”
Writer’s View
Derby are a team in freefall at the moment and that shows no signs of stopping soon. Not only have they fallen into the bottom three, but they are also running the risk of being cut adrift if this form continues. Sheffield United are one of the last teams they will want to face at the moment, although they will take note of fellow relegation-battlers Hull City, who won 3-0 at Bramall Lane earlier this month. If the Rams fail to get a result though, it could be the end of Paul Warne’s tenure at Pride Park.
